Annu Rani finishes 7th in Brussels Diamond League 2023 Javelin Throw event

Annu Rani's disappointing form continues as she finished seventh in the Brussels Diamond League 2023 Javelin Throw event on Friday in Belgium.

The 31-year-old, who is the current national record holder with 63.82m, managed only 57.74m at the King Baudouin Stadium. Her best throw of the day came in the third attempt, which helped her to finish seventh in the eight-woman event.

Annu Rani hasn't been in the best of form this year and has failed to touch the 60m mark in 2023. Her season-best came in May, where she ended with a throw of 59.24m in the Federation Cup.

The 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games Bronze Medallist managed only 57.05m in the World Championships in August and failed to qualify for the final round.

Notably, this is just the second Diamond League appearance in her career for Annu Rani. She participated in the Lausanne Diamond League in 2019, where she finished seventh with a throw of 59.35m.

Annu Rani, who is currently ranked 43rd in the world, last competed in Thum, Germany, earlier this month. Rani finished seventh with a throw of 52.54m. The conditions in Germany were severe at that time and she had to push through the rain.

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Haruka Kitaguchi wins the Brussels Diamond League 2023 Javelin Throw event

The reigning champion Haruka Kitaguchi won the Javelin Throw meet in the Brussels Diamond League 2023 on Friday. The Japanese athlete had the best throw of 67.38m, which is also her personal best and a Japanese national record.

Austrian Olympian Victoria Hudson, who is currently ranked fifth in the world, finished second with a throw of 64.65m. Lina Muze-Sirma ended third with a best attempt of 63m.

The World Championships silver medallist Flor Ruiz had a disappointing outing as she finished only fourth on Friday. However, she managed to breach the 60m mark to end with 62.51m.

Nikola Ogrodnikova of the Czech Republic also crossed the 60m mark to finish in the fifth spot with a throw of 60.18m. New Zealand's national record holder Tori Peeters finished sixth with 59.93m. Liveta Jasiunaite finished in the final spot, a place below India's Annu Rani. The 2018 Berlin European Championships Bronze medallist ended with a throw of 56.70m.

The Brussels Diamond League 2023 is the final leg of the League in the 2023 season before the final. The Diamond League finals will take place from September 16 to 17 at Eugene.